Chatham Fire Department
“Organizational Analysis”
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Our Goal:
To create a report that becomes a useful
guide and a resource that shapes a vision
for the success of the organization as it
approaches the challenges and transitions
of the future.
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Dust Collector or Useful Tool?
What are the Outcomes?
This analysis
provides the
organization and
the community 58
recommendations
that should be used
as a tool to guide
you, in reality the
outcome is up to
you.
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Methodology
• Data Review
• Target hazard Analysis
• Direct Interview
• Public Comment
• Observation
• Insurance Services
Office Fire Protection
Grading
• Touring the
Community
• Fire Station Location
Analysis
• Response Time
Verification Trails
• Literature Review
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• NFPA Standard 1710 +
OSHA 2 in 2 out
• Met with Area Fire
Chiefs
• Reviewed Federal
Grants
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The Report
• Recommendations timed and
spaced to match the fiscal ability of
the community.
• Emphasis should be placed Upon:
– Response times;
– Operational safety;
– Staffing;
– Infrastructure planning;
– Customer Service;
– Fire Prevention and
– Public Safety Dispatching
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Our Observations
• Excellent Department –
based on the strength of
its people.
• Ingenuity,creativity and
pride of are evident.
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Our Observations
• Provides a tremendous
level of value to the
community.
• Now is the time to invest,
and plan for a healthy
future.
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Our Observations
• Significant needs exist
• Facility issues are paramount
• The time tested attitude of “do
what is necessary” presents
safety issues.
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12 Focus Areas
I. Fire Service Facilities
II. Fire Service Equipment
III. Capital Planning
IV. Deployment of Resources
V. Staffing and Re-Call of Personnel
VI. Community Input
VII. Emergency Medical Services
VIII.Grants
IX. Dispatch Operations
X. Emergency Incident Volume Analysis
XI. Benchmarking – Comparative Analysis
XII. Insurance Service Office (ISO) Grading
.
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Top Five
Challenges
1. Deciding upon an acceptable level of
risk for the community as it pertains
to fire, rescue and emergency
medical services.
2. Adopting a long-range capital plan
that includes the construction and
operation of two fire stations.
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Top Five
Challenges
3. Adopting a reasonable capital plan
for fire service apparatus and
equipment.
4. Balance Fire Department staffing
among career and call personnel.
5. Determine an appropriate model
for dispatching public safety
services.
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Top Five
Recommendations
1. A temporary substation should be
created and staffed with a minimum of
two personnel at the new water treatment
facility. Unless interior space can be
reconfigured a trailer should be brought
on site to provide living quarters for
personnel at this location. This facility
should be utilized until a new South
Chatham substation can be designed and
constructed.
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Top Five
Recommendations
2.Redesign and downsize the
headquarters station to consider the
implementation of a two-station
response model. Based on the
intensity of this need, if a Town
Meeting has not been scheduled, a
Special Town Meeting should be
called to fund the redesign and
construction of this project.
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Top Five
Recommendations
3. Fill the two vacant firefighter positions
and seek federal grants to assist with
career and call firefighter staffing of a
two fire station model and to control
overtime costs.
4. Dispatch operations should be
transferred to a regional center and
the firefighter that presently performs
dispatch duties be reassigned to
emergency response as rapidly as
Municipalpossible.
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Top Five
Recommendations
5. Purchase a “quint” fire apparatus
(pumper and aerial combination) and
seek a new pumper through a federal
FIRE Act grant.
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Fire Service Facilities
• Recommendation I.1 – Dispatch
operations should be transferred
to a regional center and the
firefighter that presently
performs dispatch duties be
reassigned to emergency
response as rapidly as possible.
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Fire Service Facilities
• Recommendation I.2 – A temporary
substation should be created and
staffed with a minimum of two
personnel at the new water treatment
facility. Unless interior space can be
reconfigured a trailer should be
brought on site to provide living
quarters for personnel at this location.
This facility should be utilized until a
new South Chatham substation can be
designed and constructed.
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Fire Service Facilities
• Recommendation I.3 – Redesign and
downsize the headquarters station to
consider the implementation of a twostation response model. Based on the
intensity of this need, if a Town
Meeting has not been scheduled a
Special Town Meeting should be called
to fund the redesign and construction
of this project.
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Fire Service Facilities
• Recommendation I.4 – Funding for
the construction of a permanent
substation on the lot at Main Street
and Meetinghouse Road should be
brought to the Fiscal 2013 Town
Meeting.
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Fire Service Equipment
Recommendations pertinent to
this section of the report have
combined with, and, are
contained under the Capital
Planning section of this report.
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Capital Planning
• Recommendation III.1 – Consolidate
the replacement of the 1986 fire
pumper with the request for an
aerial ladder.
Purchase a
“quint” unit that
has a 75 - 80’
aerial ladder and
is configured as
a fire pumper in
Fiscal 2013.
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Capital Planning
• Recommendation III.5 – Replace
the 1989 fire pumper/tanker in 2014
after 24 years of service.
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Capital Planning
• Recommendation III.4 – Adjust the
amount request for several projects to
be fiscally realistic in terms of ability to
accomplish the project goal.
• Recommendation III.6 – Eliminate
projects that do not meet the definition
typically utilized in the public sector for
capital projects. These projects should
be funded through an adjustment within
the Fire Department Capital budget.
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Deployment of Resources
• Recommendation I.1 – Dispatch
operations should be transferred to
a regional center and the firefighter
that presently performs dispatch
duties be reassigned to emergency
response as rapidly as possible.
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Deployment of Resources
• Recommendation IV.1 – Hire two
firefighter paramedics to bring the
number of personnel assigned to each
shift to six members.
• Recommendation IV.2 – Set the minimum
shift strength at a level of six personnel
during the peak summer season and at a
level of five personnel during the
remainder of the year.
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Deployment of Resources
• Recommendation IV.3 – In 2011
apply for a Federal SAFER Grant to
hire four firefighter paramedics.
• Recommendation IV.4 – If the
SAFER Grant is awarded raise the
minimum staffing to a level of six
personnel year round and set the
assigned shift strength at a level of
seven personnel.
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Deployment of Resources
• Recommendation IV.9 Formal training of some type,
lasting a minimum of one
hour, should be mandated
to take place on every
duty day on every platoon.
If necessary, personnel
can swap off response
assignments for training
purposes to insure, as
much as possible, that
all personnel get to
complete the training.
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Deployment of Resources
• Recommendation IV.10 Additional, high intensity
training on various subjects,
including periodic live fire
training, should be conducted on
at least a semiannual basis (with
quarterly being preferred), off
duty at a formal fire academy
where appropriate training
facilities, structures and props
are available. This training
should be mandatory for all
personnel.
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Staffing & Recall of
Personnel
• Recommendation
IV.6 – Impact
bargain the
reduction of recall
to maintain the
availability of four
personnel (OSHA
Two in Two out) for
secondary
responses.
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Staffing & Recall of
Personnel
• Recommendation V.1 – Set a realistic
goal of expanding the number of oncall personnel to a level of 12 over
three years.
• Recommendation V.2 – In Fiscal 2012,
apply for a Federal SAFER Grant for oncall recruitment and retention. This
grant should be utilized to develop a
marketing program, and provide
incentives to on-call personnel such as
tuition reimbursement.
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Community Input
• Based on the public meetings that we
conducted three clear themes emerged:
• The community as a whole supports
the department;
• The public does not want to see the
level of service diminished;
• The citizens present indicated they
are willing to pay more for
reasonable increases in service level.
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Emergency Medical Services
• Recommendation VII.1 – Evaluate the
need for the third EMT on all transports to
a medical control facility. Return this 3rd
person back to a fire station for situations
determined to be non-critical by the
Medical Director.
This will create
more availability
to staff
simultaneous calls
quicker and at less
expense.
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Emergency Medical Services
• Recommendation VII.2 – If available, a
third EMT should respond to all
medical calls to assist the ambulance
crew with logistics and lifting thus
preventing back injuries. This
firefighter should remain in service
and available to respond to other calls
unless the patient’s condition warrants
an extra attendant as outlined above.
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Emergency Medical Services
• Recommendation
VII.5 – The Town
should consider
adjusting
ambulance-billing
rates to a level of
Medicare plus 75%.
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Fire Service Grant Analysis
• Recommendation VIII.1 – Seek
external assistance in the
development of Federal FireAct
and SAFER Grant Applications.
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Dispatch Operations
• Recommendation IX.2 - The Town of
Chatham should seriously consider
transferring fire, rescue and emergency
medical service dispatch operations
from the Chatham Fire Department to
the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office
Dispatch Center as soon as funding can
be appropriated for start-up costs and
necessary contracts and agreements
can be developed and executed
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Dispatch Operations
• Recommendation IX.3 - If the study
currently being conducted by Barnstable
County for the Barnstable County Fire
Chiefs Association determines that a
dedicated, county wide fire, rescue and
EMS dispatch center is feasible and
warranted, and, appropriate start up grant
funding is obtained, the Town of Chatham
should give serious consideration to
participation in that endeavor from its
inception.
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Dispatch Operations
• Recommendation IX.4 - If the Town of
Chatham decides to move fire, rescue and
EMS dispatch operations to another
agency, the minimum number of on duty
firefighters SHOULD NOT be reduced and
should be maintained at the current five
(5) off season and six (6) in season.
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Dispatch Operations
• Recommendation IX.7 - Once fire, rescue and
EMS dispatch operations are transferred
from the Chatham Fire Department to another
appropriate agency, the Chatham Fire
Department procedure on paging/recalling off
duty personnel should be revised to reflect
the availability of an additional on duty
firefighter for immediate response, and,
reduce the circumstances/ instances when
additional off duty personnel are summoned,
on overtime, to assist with providing station
coverage
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Emergency Incident Volume
Analysis
TOTAL ANNUAL RESPONSES BY YEAR
2005 - 2010
2,540
2,520
2,500
2,480
2,460
2,440
2,420
2,400
2,380
2,360
2,340
ANNUAL RESPONSES
- 2010
2005
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2005
2,006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2,443
2,469
2,429
2,527
2,489
2,409
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Emergency Incident Volume
Analysis
AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAILY RESPONSES BY MONTH
2005 - 2010
12
10
9.7
9.1
8
7.6
6.9
6
6.3
5.7
5.4
5.2
5.5
6.8
6
5.9
4
2
0
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Emergency Incident Volume
Analysis
SIMULTANEOUS INCIDENTS BY YEAR
2005 - 2010
TOTAL INCIDENTS
2,469
2,443
SIMULTANEOUS INCIDENTS
2,527
2,429
2,489
2,409
748
578
2005
2006
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515
2007
565
2008
552
2009
517
2010
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Emergency Incident Volume
Analysis
12/1/09 to 11/30/10
• 2, 107 incidents where there was a recordable response
time.
– 1431 (67.9%) has a response time of five (5) minutes
or under (including one (1) minute turnout time);
– 1649 (78.2%) had a response time of six (6) minutes
or less;
– 1831 (86.9%) have a time of seven (7) minutes or
less;
– 1950 (92.5%) have a response time of eight (8)
minutes or less.
• The average response time, including the station walk-in
emergencies was 3 minutes, 49 seconds.
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Emergency Incident Volume
Analysis
TARGET IS 5 MINUTE RESPONSE
TIME 90% OF THE TIME.
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Benchmarking &n
Comparative Analysis
• Chatham is composed of a smaller
permanent resident population and
overall land area than the majority of the
communities surveyed.
• The fire services budget is 11% above the
average and overtime is 57% above
average.
• Fire dollar loss is below average and
overall emergency incident volume is
average
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Benchmarking &n
Comparative Analysis
• The number of career firefighters is slightly
below average, while the number of on-call
firefighters is significantly below average.
• The number of walk-in medical treatments (a
community expectation) is 2.5 times the
average experienced in other communities.
Many of these events do not result in patient
transport. Although not a revenue generator,
this service is publically viewed as an
exceptional service.
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Benchmarking &n
Comparative Analysis
• Most communities operate more than
one fire station. The average size of the
headquarters fire station is 18,592
square feet.
• Emergency medical services revenue is
lower then the average but based on the
distance to Cape Cod Hospital, then per
call revenue is higher than average.
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Benchmarking &n
Comparative Analysis
• Recommendation XI.1 – Overtime
should be reduced by restructuring
recall procedures and optimizing shift
float thus decreasing the need to hire
personnel on overtime.
• Recommendation XI.2 – The Department
should be recognized for doing an
exceptional job in limiting fire dollar loss
within the community.
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ISO Grading
• In the last ISO evaluation, Chatham received a
class 5 rating and an overall score of 53.41.
• FIRE ALARMS/ COMMUNICATION:
8.30 out of 10
• FIRE DEPARTMENT
20.07 out of 50
• WATER SUPPLY
34.02 out of 40
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ISO Grading
• Recommendation XII.1 Alter response patterns
to dispatch two units to
an alarm of fire in a
structure.
• Recommendation XII.2 Conduct hose testing
on an annual basis
and maintain
appropriate records.
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ISO Grading
• Recommendation XII.3 - Record all
emergency telephone lines even if the
dispatch center is relocated. As the
present recorder does not fully function
this unit should be replaced
immediately, a new unit could be easily
transferred into the new headquarters
once construction is complete.
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The Challenge Ahead, Planning
for the Future
• Long term development of the
organization and your people
• Matching needs to fiscal ability
• Master planning
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Thank You
Website:
municipalresources.com
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